Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Thanksgiving usually means turkey. But as families feast on big Butterballs from the grocery store, they might be watched from afar, by the main entrée’s freer, wilder cousins. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.

Coyote Hunting contest is happening this weekend in Harney County . Predator advocates are condemning the event, especially given the ongoing occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge by armed militants .

Oregon crab fishers are ready to go out in the water but the latest tests have shown toxin levels in the crustaceans off the south coast that are still a cause for concern. The state has continued its delay of the commercial Dungeness crab season coast wide.

An invasive crayfish species has been found in drainage from the Willamette River. This is the first time Ringed crayfish have been discovered this far north. Rick Boatner is the invasive species coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Boatner: "It's at the upper end of the Willamette drainage and if they repeat what they've done down in Southern Oregon, in places like the Rogue, the Umpqua, they're going to quickly become the dominant crayfish species in that system and eventually, probably all the way down."

As part of a unique effort to raise money for the family of one of the victims of last week's shooting at Umpqua Community College, Cooper Creek Reservoir is being stocked with extra trout for a special fishing derby. The fundraiser for Treven Anspach is being organized by the Oakland and Sutherlin High Schools' Student Councils. Greg Huchko is a Fish Biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A record number of sea lions have been feeding in the Columbia River this spring. A lack of food in the ocean and a big run of smelt drew them in. And now they’re eating salmon. That has a lot of people debating the best way to manage these hulking pinnipeds. While some are shooting at them, and arguing for their lethal removal, others are rushing to their defense.

In Astoria's East Mooring Basin, big blubbery sea lions have taken over the docks that are supposed to harbor boats. Bill Hunsinger oversees those docks as a commissioner with the Port of Astoria.

Desmond: Since wolves first started returning to Washington and Oregon in the late 1990s, the population has been increasing steadily – especially over the past few years.

Now wildlife officials are taking a look at the species’ protected status. In late April, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission initiated the process of removing wolves from the state’s endangered species list.

All this brings up questions of whether the wolf has actually recovered enough to dial back protections.

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Friday began the process of removing gray wolves from the state’s endangered species list.

The Commission asked Fish and Wildlife staff to develop two proposals - one that would delist the wolf statewide and another that would allow for a partial delisting that would maintain protections for wolves in the western part of the state.

Wildlife biologists say there are now 77 wolves in Oregon and certain key conservation goals have been met.